Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Temporary Goodbye



Don't worry, it's not Clare saying bye, and it's not permanent.

(Hi, this is Bree, by the way.)

Today we said goodbye to Evelyn, Charissa, Fiona, and Kiwi for two whole weeks! They're going to sleep-away camp about an hour away from the city. They're going to be hiking, swimming, learning about nature, doing crafts, sitting around the campfire... the usual camp stuff. They also each get to choose an area to focus on learning about while they're there. The camp calls it a "major," like at a university. Evelyn is going to be taking horseback riding for her major. Fiona and Kiwi are doing drama. Charissa is doing sports and athletics.

It sounds like they're going to have a fantastic time! They were really excited... but a tiny bit nervous too. Especially Evelyn, I think, since she's the youngest and she hasn't really been away from home much. I think once they get there, they'll have so much fun they're going to forget they were ever worried or homesick.

We the older kids are staying in the city for now. Me and Kirsten have these two weeks off from driver's ed for "vacation." Kirsten is going to be doing a Model UN seminar, which she's taking so seriously it's a little absurd. You would think her success or failure was really going to make or break world politics, the way she's acting. Meanwhile, Felicity, Summer, and I are taking a writing course at the local public library, and Josefina has three more weeks left in her photography course that's co-sponsored between the library and the museum. Molly is going to the same art program she goes to every year, but she says she learns different things every time. Kaya has been taking dance workshops over the course of the summer so far, but for the next ten days she's taking time off from ballet to attend an environmental science day program with Parks Canada.

Clare can't go along on any of our activities, of course, due to vampire sunburn concerns - but she's doing a lot of reading and learning yoga. She seems pretty content, although it's too bad her life is so restricted. We try to spend as much time with her in the evenings as we can.

So far our summer has been pretty cold and grey. Yeah, we live in Northern Canada, but the other girls tell me it's usually warmer and sunnier than this in July. (It's my first summer here.) Things finally warmed up a couple of weeks ago, although it has been pretty inconsistent and there have been as many chilly days as summery ones.

Still, we're hoping to do some weekend camping trips between now and when school starts. We can't spend our entire summer in the city, after all, right?

Love,
Bree

10 comments:

  1. Hi Bree! It sounds like you're all going to be keeping busy and occupied this summer. That's always good. I'm sure it'll go great for all of you! =)

    Love, Lucy

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  2. Hello, Bree. You and your sister's summer sounds very busy and fun. I used to go to sleep-away camp, but with the move there was no time to find one for me. But staying on the ranch is kind of like camp. I usually did an art camp. Molly would have loved it!

    I hope you get some sun soon (though maybe you would rather not because of Clare).

    *Angelica*

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  3. Wow! Your house will be half empty! But, then you might get more quiet time that way. I don't know about you, but I like to have some time alone in peace and quiet for part of every day. If I didn't I think I would go crazy.
    Send some rain this way! I'd send you the hot sun we've got here if I could!
    xoxo,
    Rebecca

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  4. Salut, Bree!
    I hope your sisters have have an extremely fun time at camp. Keep us updated!
    I am not looking forward to school starting...AT ALL...
    Bises,
    Sabine

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  5. Lucy - We love your new blog! Yeah, this has been a busy summer for us, in a lot of crazy ways. It's kind of fun to have some "normal" (and non-life-threatening) activities to fall back on. ;-)

    Love,
    Bree

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  6. Angelica - Yeah, the ranch really is like camp for you, in a way. Certainly very different scenery and activities from what you're used to! I've actually never been to sleep-away camp, although I've been camping.

    Clare can't really go out when there's sun at all, so we'd still like some real sun instead of wimpy sun, if she has to stay in either way.

    Love,
    Bree

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  7. Rebecca - Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm a pretty major introvert, honestly, and most of the girls in our household are not. When I first moved in, it was really overwhelming. Not in a bad way, but it was just... a lot. I'm used to it now, but it'll be nice to have things quieter and more low-key for awhile.

    I'm already starting to miss them a little, though. They definitely keep things lively and make me smile, even if they can be annoying sometimes too. By the time two weeks are over, I think we'll be ready to have them back.

    We'd be happy to exchange some weather with you to even things out.

    ;-)

    Love,
    Bree

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  8. Sabine - Thanks! I'm sure they'll have a wonderful time. Maybe they'll manage a postcard for us, but we'll see... I bet they'll be too busy running wild in the woods.

    I'm not ready for school to start either, but we still have quite awhile. Our school goes later into the summer than American schools, but we also don't go back till later. We don't have to go back till the end of August.

    Love,
    Bree

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  9. Ooooohhhhh sounds like they are all going to have a blast doing the camps .. hope Claire does ok when she is alone .. maybe she will have to do some posts to help out her day ..

    Taryn

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  10. Taryn - Clare says she doesn't mind being alone. At first we thought she was just making the best of it, but eventually we realized that she's been on her own for a long time, and she's used to it. I think if we were all around all the time, she'd be overwhelmed. I get the feeling she maybe doesn't mind having a few hours of break from us every day.

    I'll suggest she write some posts, though! :-)

    Love,
    Bree

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